Certificate holder and means for securing the same to a support



G. A. STANZEL IlWan. "14, 1941.

CERTIFICATE HOLDER AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE SAME TO A SUPPORT Filed 0G11. 24, 1953 Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFME George A. Sta-mel, Des Moines, Iowa Application 7 Claims.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved certcate holder of that type adapted to be secured preferably to the steering post of an automobile in such a manner that the information 'contained on the certificate may be easily read by persons standing outside of the car and looking through the front window.

More specifically, it is the object of my invention to 'pr-Ovide a certificate 'hol-der of simple,

l, durable and inexpensive construction which may be easily and quickly applied to the steering post of an automobile or other similar support, and when so appli-ed the certificate holder enclosed or fastened in such a manner that the certifcate can-not be removed from the holder or the holder removed from the support without damaging the certicate holder or its fastening means or a suitable seal used in connection therewith.

A further object of my invention is t'o provide ina certificate holder `formed o two flexible members one superimposed on the other, and one of Wh'ich is transparent, having their edges bound to form a container and adapted 'to be curved around a support, an improved means whereby the transparent member may be stretched relative to the other member to accommodate the diieren'ces in the length of their circumferential surfaces as the certificate holder is wrapped around a support.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a centiiicate holder of the type above described, improved means for sealing .the holder against being opened and against being removed from the support after being placed thereon.

lMy invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan v'iew of my improved certi- .cate holder showing the certiiicate placed therein in dotted lines.

Figure 2 isv a perspective View of the hack side of the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective View oi the transparen-t and ilexible sheet which forms the body portion of my improved holder, the same being partially folded before receiving the clips for binding the edges oi the same.

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the same showing the binding clips applied `and a certificate partially placed in the envelope formed by said binders.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view W l taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 1.

October 24, 1938, Serial No. 236,625 (Cl. lIAL-10) lfigure 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 'l is an enlarged detail sectional View taken on the line 'I--l of Figure i.

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional View of a steering post showing the manner in which the certicate holder is secured thereto, the certidcate holder being illustrated in end elevation.

Figure 9 is a perspective View oi the form of seal which is preferably used in connection with my 'improved holder.

Figure 10 is `a perspective view of the bach side of a modified form of my improved holder.

Figure 11 is a detail sectional view taken on the line Ill-#II of Figure 10.

My improved certificate holder is formed preierably of a longitudinal sheet of flexible and transparent material such as Celluloid, and is designated by the numeral IE5, said sheet being folded to form a central body 'portion I I, an end portion I2 and a second end porti-on i3, lthe free end of the member t3 being cut on inwardly extending lines I4 terminating in laterally extending lines I5 to form wing sections Iii, said wing sections being doubled outwardly overlapping the portion I1, the said portions then being perforated and provided with eyelets It. The end meinber I2 is folded over and `achacent to the body portion II, said portions having .their side edges I9 bound together by metallic binding strips 29, said members 2li being formed of strips of metal bent centrally and longitudinally and having one side portion overlapping the other .to forni grooves 2I for receiving the edges I9 in the manner elearly illustrated in Figure 4, the binders being placed under .a suitable press and squeezed together. At the same time suitable dies are included in the press for forcing the metallic tongues 22 of the lower portions of the through the members II and I2 and into corresponding slots formed in the upper portion-s of the binders, in the manner as 'illustrated in Figures 4, 6 and 7, thus providing means for anchor ing the binders to the me bers Ii and I?. so that the edges I9 will be firmly held together. By this construction an envelope is formed with space between the members ii and I2 for receiving a certiiicate 23. y

The 'central portion of the binding strips .2li are provided with periorations 2d in which suitable eyelets may also be placed, if so desired, said eyelets passing through both both sides of the strip 2i) and the edges of the members I9, thus providing further means for anchoring the binding strips against sliding off yof rthe edges of the binder upwardly dit 'tively soft material, such as lead,

` cate.

comparatively smooth hard-surfaced material such as Celluloid. The member I3 is then folded downwardly overlapping the corresponding end of the member I2 with the openings I8 over and in alinement with the perforations 24, in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. A flexible tie is then provided which is preferably formed of twisted fibrous wire 25 having a block 2,6 fixed to one end, said block being formed of comparato form a seal, and provided with openings 21 and 28. One end of the tie wire 25 is then placed through yone set of openings I8 yand 24, after which the free end of the tie is placed through the opening 21 to form a loop 29 for securing the free end of the member I3 to the back side of the member I2. The holder i-s then placed adjacent 'to a suitable support `3El, such as the steering post of an automobile, with fthe binders extending longitudinally of the post, the holder is then curved around the post in the manner illustrated in Figure 8, after `which the `free end 'of the tie 25 is placed through the other open-ings I8 `and 24 and then again returned to the member 26 and passed through fthe opening 28 of the member 2B, thus providing 'means for tying or fastening the certificate holder to the support, at the same time fastening the envelope `closed ywith the member I3 between the body porti-on of the certificate h-older .and the steering post. The outer edge of Ithe member .26 is then placed in a suitable tool for `crushing a portion or body of the member 26 to ycause it to iirmly grip the free end of the member 25 .and thus provide means for sealing the certicate holder closed yand to its support, whereby the certificate cannot be removed withoult destroying or defacing the `certicate bolder or breaking .the tie or destroying the seal, thus preventing the stealing of the certificate holder and transferring the same from one car to another.

It will readily be seen that since the members I I and 1I2 are of the same width and have .their overlapping edges bound firmly together, that if the certificate holder thus formed is wrapped around the steering post, then .the out-er ones of said members will be bent in a `circumferential surface `of a greater ydiameter than fthe inner one, which would tend `to separate the bound edges. To overcome this diiiicu'lty I have provided the member II with longitudinally extending corrugations 3i "wherein the material is stretched as the said corrugations are formed, so that when the -certiiioate holder is wrapped around the steering post said borrugations will fla-tten out and permit t'he member II to stretch relative to the member I2.

In 'Figures 10 and l1 I have illustrated a modified form in which the member lI'3a is `cut diagonally across its end so that the said overlapping portion is secured to the body portion at one corner instead `of two corners, as is illustrated in Figure 2. The other overlapping portion I2a is made short-er and is bound under the members similar to my preferred form. In this form a sheet of s'tiif non-transparent or -opaque material 32 may be inserted between the members I'2a and I3a to form a backing for 'the certifi- The certificate is .then placed between the member 32 and the member I Ia.

Thus it will be seen I have provided a certificate holder of simple construction in which all sewing is eliminated and in which the envelope or body portion may be formed of transparent and lcomparatively brittle material, such as Celluloid, and when -so formed the adjacent overlapping edges will be firmly bound with a metallic binder to prevent tearing and provided with means whereby after a certificate has been placed in position the envelope maybe closed and sealed and lfixed to its support in such a manner that the certificate cannot be removed without defacing or tearing the holder or destroying the fastening means or the seal, thereby enabling traiii'c oiiicers to ascertain at a glance whether or not .the certiiicate is one that has been assigned to the particular lcar being investigated.

I claim as my invention:

1. A ycertificate holder formed of thin iiexible and transp-arent material folded to form a body of said body and overlapping end portion together to form an envelope with the other end portion adapted .to overlap the iirst end portion to close said envelope after' a lcertificate has been placed in the envelope, and means for fastening and sealing .the last overlapping 'end portion to said body and vfor mounting Iand sealing the certificate holder to a suitable support.

2. A lcerticate hold-er formed of thin iiexible and .transparent material folded to form a body and end portions, one of the end portions being folded over the body portion, a binder formed of rigid material securing the adjoining side edges of said body :and overlapping end portion together to form :an envelope with the other end portion adapted to overlap the yfirst end portion .to :close ing the certificate holder to a suitable support, and means for 'sealing 4the flexible means whereby the envelope cannot be opened or the certiiicate holder removed without breaking said seal.

3. A certificate holder adapted to `be placed around a support, Icomprising a transparent flexible front portion and a super-imposed flexible back portion, means binding two opposite and adjoining side edges of said portions together to receive a certificate between them, the front portion being corrugated longitudinally to permit the front portion to be stretched relative to the back portion Ias the holder is bent around a. support, and means for fastening the holder .to a support.

4. A certificate holder, comprising a strip of flexible and transparent material folded to form a body and end portions, one end portion overlapping the body portion, a strip of non-transparent material .between said body portion and said overlapping end portion, means binding together the side edges of said body portion and the corresponding edges of said non-transparent material and the side edges of said overlapping end portion, .and means secured to said binding means for fastening said holder to a support.

5. A `certificate holder adapted to be placed around a support, comprising a front portion and a back portion to receive a certin'cate between them, one portion being corrugated longitudinalsaid eertlicate holder being supported adjacent to said support and having two of its opposite edges perforated, 'a 'seal having a plurality of openings, ya flexible tie passed Lthrough one of lthe openings of said seal, thence through lthe perforaton of said yclosing means `and one of the perforations of said holder and thencejt'hrough another one of the openings of said seal, thence around said support, thence ythrough the other perforation of said holder, thence back to and through another one of the openings of said seal, to he clamp-ed therein by a suitable seal-applying tool whereby the 'certificate with said holder cannot be removed Without destroying the holder or its fastening means.

7. The combination of a support, a closed oerticate holder having a passage for the insertion of a certificate, said `certificate holder being supn ported adjacent to said support and having two of its opposite edges perforated, :a seal having a vplm'ality of openings, a exible tie having one end fixed in one of said openings of said seal, the other end of said tie being passed through one of said perforations of the holder, thence around said support and through the other perforation of said holder, thence returned `again around said support through another one of the opening-s of said seal, to he clamped therein by a suitable seal-applying 'tool whereby t-h'e oerticate with `said holder lcannot be removed Without destroying the holder or its fastening means.

GEORGE A. STANZEL. 

